Beth is a kick-ass guitarist paying her dues in a band that she hopes will pay the bills someday. The problem is she can't really concentrate on that, her boyfriend has vanished, just one of many mysterious disappearances in her town.

One evening after a gig things get worse, Beth's brother is critically injured in a car crash, his hopes of becoming a professional athlete crushed.

Out of nowhere, Beth is offered a once in a lifetime chance: a spot in a prestigious performing arts school known as High Step. Beth accepts the offer, despite her spiralling personal life.

She soon learns that High Step is no ordinary school, and the students there are even stranger. What complicates things is the mysterious fog that seems to perpetually hover around the building. There's also a feeling of lost time, and then there's the fact that she isn't able to get into contact with her family, Beth begins to break down emotionally and mentally.

Mentored by Vincent, a mysterious, good looking guy, Beth soon realizes that playing the opening riff to Smoke on the Water isn't her only skill.

There's a constant feeling of foreboding in this novel, mysterious characters drift in and out of Beth's life as she tries to navigate her way through the murky waters of High Step's examinations and ceremonies. Is someone after her? Or is she going crazy? Why hasn't her mother tried to contact her?

As I read this novel I felt like I was witnessing the unravelling of a fragile mind, but in a good way, because it's all made up.